What a whirlwind weekend we had at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair at the beginning of July! We were fortunate to enjoy good weather, which helped draw record-breaking crowds on Saturday and brought the total attendance for the weekend to over 34,000 visitors. The team from Outfitter Tales joined us on the stand and it was great to catch-up with all their news from the world of hunting and deer stalking.
Friday consisted of a busy schedule of networking events and get-togethers with our partnership organisations, including the Heather Trust, Scottish Land and Estates and of course the GWCT. The Duke of Buccleuch hounds made an appearance at the Main Ring to showcase their work—a highlight of the day, as spectators always enjoy meeting the team and joining the hounds for a fun run-around in the ring!
Jim Fairlie, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity popped by the stand on Friday afternoon with Sam Turner from the Scottish Government Wildlife Management Team and had a very informative discussion with Jake on many rural topics including wildlife licensing.
The showground hosted a record-breaking crowd on the Saturday, and this was apparent by the number of people that visited the stand for a chat. Rachael Hamilton MSP paid us a visit and attended the question-and-answer session hosted by the Scottish Countryside Alliance. This drop-in session saw Ben Pacholek from Police Scotland, and Alastair MacGugan from NatureScot answering questions on deer and wildlife management, and the hunting with dogs licensing scheme. Additional supplementary questions were taken from the floor to round-off a very informative session. Further information regarding this session will be provided in due course and the video from the event will be posted on the Countryside Alliance YouTube channel soon.
On the final day of the show, the noble Scottish Deerhounds took to the Main Ring in a stunning display, showcasing this remarkable and rare breed in all its glory. Impressively, more than half of the 87 known Scottish Deerhounds were in attendance at the Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace. We had a special visit from Lockie to the Scottish Countryside Alliance stand, and he made himself very much at home on the couch for a well-earned rest!
We ran a competition throughout the Game Fair weekend to win a Hoggs of Fife Ballater field jacket, which proved hugely popular. The lucky winner of the jacket will be receiving a call from us shortly with the good news.
Before we knew it, the weekend was over, and the Scottish Game Fair was finished for another year. We look forward to catching up with all our members and supporters at next year’s Scottish Game Fair, but until then, please keep in touch with all our news by signing up to the monthly Heather Routes newsletter.
The Countryside Alliance team will be attending the Game Fair at Ragley Hall on 25-27 July.